Taz Halloween - Vocals, piano keys, geetar, castinets,bongoes, toy accordion, ukelele, mandola, mouth trumpet
Marty Johnson - Bass, geetar, trumpet and pretty much anything he picks up!
(and whomever the wind burps our way!Because of this, we have our alter-ego band name : "Here Comes Everybody!")
Tim Barnes(The first "Johnny" - "Alley Cat" back then in'00! & sometimes SCOTS Member) - Geetars with flames & smoke!
Pete Waggoner(Blue Diablo) - Geetars with smoke & flames!(are always welcome @ our table!!!)
Stu Cole (of Squirrel Nut Zippers) & I have an act we
like to call Uncle Sister. And we always welcome him
as an honorary Johnny!
Stu plays Bass, Geetars, banjo AND pretty much everything he picks up!
Other Honorary Johnnys :
FJ Ventre(TCB 56, Edsel 500, The Buzzkills &
an original "Alley Cat")Bass, keys & vocals
Shannon Morgan (Memphis the Band) - vocals & percussion
John Saylor - vocals & Geetar
Pete Lucy(Memphis the Band) - Accordion
Jeff Lindsey Drums & vocals
Matt Vooris(SNMNMNM, A Rooster for the Masses) - Drums & Vocals
Robert Rockett - Drums
Lou Gagliano (King George & Blue Diablo) - Geetar
Shannon Blackwood(HWYL, Efficacy) - Geetar
Rhiannon Jones(HWYL) - Fiddle
Bengt Walker (the Walkers, HWYL) - Drums
Mitch Rothrock(Dynamite Brothers) - Geetars
Ellen Stevenson - Vocals
Phil Mazarick - Keys
Pat Gallarelli - Saxophones...All honorary Johnnys!
Andrew Barnes (drums), Pat Barnes (bass), Stevie Hamlin (guitar & vocals) & Nathan Logan (drums) all were in the Alley Cats & a HUGE part of the Johnnys history! The list before is made up of folks who play with me on a more current calender. Nathan walked through the revolving doors of the Kitty Box rotation recently to join Stu, Marty & I on a trip to Beaufort for coupla gigs! Yay!
Love, Meowrrr & phtt-phtt, "Kitty"
Influences
Marty Johnson, Jim Beam, PBR, the Beast,the Marlboro Man, High Tide, my checking account, the Weather, DNA/Family Genes, Pisces Sun, Moon & Rising, Rudy & Poot, Odie, Queen Wilomina of Chatham, Jones, did I mention Marty Johnson! Elly May Clampett! (both in vittle cookin' & the love of critters!)
And - of course - Sam Clemens...
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Taz Halloween was born in Savannah, Georgia (Chatham County)in 1960 to a multi-media voice & personality man & a beautiful artist /social worker. Her Biological father was known as Dr. Blues for his soulful radio programs. Taz came into this world howling - screamed bloody murder @ thunder as a child, but LOVES a good southern rumbler now. These are some of the elements that taught her to wail & sing. Her sister, Taffy, taught her some of what she knows on guitar & the rest she made up or asked patient folks how to do what they were doin'.Used to be ya' couldn't pry the dang thing out of her clingin' hands, but she ran out of things to teach herself & wandered around to make noise on other things. She's mostly a rythm player in all of her dabblings, but tends to do all of the "lead" type work with her voice. She is a "closet" percussionist (most wish she would keep it there), but I guess she just likes to get back at the thunder that terrified her as a child.She now lives in Pittsboro, NC (Chatham County) She has a multimedia show dubbed "The Carnival of Nightmares" by her late friend Paul Myer. This show is STILL a work in progress, but was born around 1984ish.She sings to tapes of music she recorded herself - SOME sampling (ala Pink Floyd)of others' voices talking. There are slides & lights & dialogues & Eman & a snake, sometimes & a beautiful belly dancer, sometimes that is Ziana. Some, long ago, would catch the first set then later apologize when they saw her next that they couldn't come back for the 2nd set because she made them cry. Probably more like she scared them or put them to sleep, but believing this caused her great distress & some secret pleasure. So she decided when she formed the "Kitty Box" personna that the songs had to sound friendly & cheerful & those that didn't had to have funny lyrics. The Carnival of Nightmares IS funnier than it seems & when it IS scary - well that's what nightmares are. Funny & scary.
She has been fortunate enough to sing back-up or co-vocals with many wonderful artists such as Greg Humphreys & Hobex, Chris Frank of the Red Clay Ramblers, Robert Griffin & she went to France 20 years ago this June & did a 2 week stint & had the red carpet rolled out for them before every step they took. She has sung back-up with the legendary Debra DeMilo, John Dee Holeman, Mel Melton, AC Bushnell, and Charles Pettee, and, with Jody Kidney, sings backup with Dexter Romwebber & the New Romans. Members of the local & nationally acclaimed Pressure Boys & LUD have been gracious enough to "back" her up in the past, long ago. Long ago , as well, the Chicken Wire Gang & Stu's All Flying Monkey Band were known to let her wail a tune or 2 or she would cry & pout...She was so happy recently to scream on a few tracks of the upcoming Dynamite Brothers disc. And was very happy to have sung with Memphis the Band on past projects. She had to pass on the first round of the Diamond Studs (revival - not the original), but a few years ago had the 2nd chance to try to fill very big, but tiny shoes of Madeleine Smoak in the role of Belle Starr & other roles in the 30th anniversary @ the Barn @ Fearrington. Jim Wann she counts as a very patient, dear friend as well as Don Dixon. 'Nuff name droppin'! But more later...
Just ta' letcha know - The musicians on "What would Sam Clemens Say" are The inimitable Stu Cole & The inimitable Nate Stalfa.(& Taz Halloween on vocals & keys) I wrote the song, but Stu did most of the production on this version. Nate came all the way from Nashville with a snare drum on his knee, so please give him LOTS OF LOVE on his page! I soon will put this song up for sale because I would like to pay Stu & Nate for their talent, but please feel free to download & share with friends for now!
The other song posted is my entry for the "Henry Poole Is Here" contest - I didn't win, but am leaving the song up for my new cyber friends that entered the contest to hear.
I removed the Sam Clemens slide show because I want to make a new one - coming soon!
I found the 7 year old videos of Kitty Box & the Alley Cats - courtesy of Craig (Armada Music.com & the Cave) & got such a kick out of them - thought ya'll might too! Don't care for my singin', but miss the fun I used to be & have! And of course am happy to have some live footage of Tim Barnes, Nathan Logan, Pat Barnes & Stevie Hamlin!
Below is a race between The Pie in the Sky & Death - Marty says : "Why doesn't the Pie in the Sky just turn & smack death in the face?!"
Archaeologists Discover World's First Guy Named Marty
June 1, 2009 | Issue 45•23 Article Tools
*Archaeologists Discover World's First Guy Named Marty
SZEGED, HUNGARY—University of Toronto archaeologists excavating a prehistoric settlement near the Serbian border announced Tuesday that they had unearthed the remains of the earliest known Marty, dating back nearly 9,000 years. "What makes this a significant find is the ancient Marty's features, which suggest he bore a striking resemblance to the Marty of today," said expedition leader Claribel Mollet, who determined the identity of the prehistoric man after carefully analyzing the stoop of his shoulders and the elongated distance between his eye sockets. "At the same site we've uncovered what appear to be dice used for an ancient game of craps, leading us to believe this specimen predates the Martys' split with ancestors of the modern Rick, who eventually moved westward." In 1998, researchers thought they had discovered the first Marty in Azerbaijan, but carbon-dating test results later revealed they had in fact discovered an early Eddie who just looked like a Marty.
Out november 2008: Hemlock Smith & Les Poissons Autistes: "Three Times Dead". 10 tracks CD published on Everestrecords. Listen to some tracks on the project Myspace page. Order it on the label site.
Taz! It was a real pleasure running into kinfolk that I didn't know I had in Chapel Hill. You sound terrific too. Nice sultry pipes. It's in the genes I guess. I'll see you next time at The Cave. Whenever that may be.
Love, Meowrrr & phtt-phtt, "Kitty"
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